Police Staff Pay Rise 2026: what's agreed, and when it's paid
If you searched for the police staff pay rise and found a page about 3.5% for officers, that award is not yours. Police staff pay runs through an entirely different process, on a different timetable.
Updated 21 September 2026
The short answer
The 3.5% confirmed for 2026/27 covers police officers only. Police staff pay is negotiated through the Police Staff Council between the employers' side and the joint unions — UNISON, Unite and GMB — and that negotiation is a separate track with its own timetable.
The unions submitted a claim for 9% or £2,700, whichever is greater, plus a £15 per hour minimum, abolition of the Point 24 overtime bar and 25 days starting annual leave. A claim is an opening position — the settled figure is normally lower, and until it is agreed there is no national payment date.
Why the officer award doesn't apply to you
Police officers are not employees. They are office holders under the Crown, which is why they cannot strike, cannot be made redundant, and are governed by Police Regulations rather than an employment contract. Their pay is recommended by a review body and decided by the Home Secretary.
Police staff are ordinary employees. You have a contract, full employment rights, union representation and collective bargaining. Your pay is negotiated, not recommended. That single distinction drives almost every difference below — and it is why an announcement about officer pay tells you nothing about your own.
| Police staff | Police officers | |
|---|---|---|
| Who sets your pay | Police Staff Council — employer side and UNISON, Unite, GMB | Police Remuneration Review Body, decided by the Home Secretary |
| Employment status | Employee with a contract of employment | Office holder under the Crown, governed by Police Regulations |
| Pension scheme | Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) | Police Pension Scheme 2015 |
| Right to strike | Yes — full trade union rights | No — industrial action is prohibited |
| Overtime | Premium rates, but blocked above the Point 24 bar (£35,772) | Police Regulations rates, including rest day and short-notice provisions |
| Redundancy | Standard statutory and contractual redundancy rights | No redundancy — officers cannot be made redundant |
The Point 24 overtime bar, explained
A rule carried over from 1996 blocks police staff earning above £35,772 from receiving premium overtime rates. Above that line, extra hours can be paid at plain time or taken as time off in lieu — while a colleague earning slightly less is paid an enhanced rate for the same shift.
It affects a large and growing group, because the threshold has not kept pace with salary growth: staff who were nowhere near the bar a decade ago now sit above it. Abolishing it is one of the headline demands of the 2026 claim, and it is the reason some staff find that a pay rise can leave them financially worse off once lost overtime is counted.
Free calculator · Police staff mode
Check your take-home — and whether you're over the Point 24 bar
Switch the calculator to Police Staff, enter your salary and hours, and it flags whether you sit above the £35,772 overtime threshold.
Beyond the pay rise itself
What a pay rise actually changes for you
A pay award isn't the only number that moves. Once you're in the calculator's Police Staff mode, unlocking the full report adds three things specific to your situation, not an officer's: an LGPS pension projection, a real Point 24 cost calculator for any overtime you work, and a statutory redundancy pay estimator — worth knowing regardless of how this negotiation lands.
LGPS pension
What your actual pension is worth, projected forward
Point 24 cost
What the overtime bar is really costing you this year
Redundancy pay
Your real statutory entitlement, by age and service
"When will it actually be paid?"
Employer and union sides met on 19 August 2026 and adjourned talks to 10 September 2026. No settlement figure has been publicly confirmed since. If you've heard a number from your own force or union branch, treat it as more current than this page until we can verify it against a national source.
The Police Staff Council has to agree a figure. Until that happens there is no rise to pay, regardless of what officers have been awarded.
Each force then implements it locally. Two forces agreeing the same national settlement can still pay it in different months.
Settlements are normally backdated to the agreed effective date, so a delay shifts when you are paid, not how much you are owed.
Check your own force's intranet or your union branch for local implementation dates — national coverage cannot tell you which payroll run yours lands in, and some forces set staff pay locally rather than following the national agreement at all.
Common questions
Does the 3.5% police pay rise apply to police staff?
No. The 3.5% announced for 2026/27 applies to police officers up to and including chief superintendent in England and Wales, recommended through the Police Remuneration Review Body. Police staff pay is negotiated separately through the Police Staff Council between the employers' side and the joint trade unions — UNISON, Unite and GMB. The two processes have different timetables and different outcomes, which is why a confirmed officer award does not tell you what staff will get.
When will the 2026 police staff pay rise be paid?
There is no single national date until the Police Staff Council settles the claim and individual forces implement it on payroll. Once a settlement is agreed it is normally backdated to the agreed effective date, so pay owed from that date is not lost by the delay — it arrives as arrears in a later payslip. Some forces sit outside the national arrangements and set staff pay locally, so their timing can differ again.
What did the unions ask for in the 2026 claim?
The joint trade union side submitted a claim for 9% or £2,700, whichever is greater, along with a minimum rate of £15 per hour for all police staff roles, abolition of the "Point 24" overtime bar, and an increase in starting annual leave to 25 days to match police officer entitlement. A claim is an opening position, not a settlement — the agreed figure is usually lower.
What is the Point 24 overtime bar?
A rule dating from 1996 that stops police staff earning above a set salary threshold — currently £35,772 — from receiving premium overtime rates. Staff above the bar can find themselves working additional hours at plain time or for time off in lieu while a colleague below it is paid at an enhanced rate for the same work. Abolishing it is one of the central demands of the 2026 claim.
Are police staff in the police pension scheme?
No. Police staff are members of the Local Government Pension Scheme, not the Police Pension Scheme. That means different contribution rates, a different normal pension age linked to State Pension age, and none of the police-specific features such as the officer commutation rules or the McCloud remedy as it applies to officers. Police pension calculators built for officers will not model a staff pension correctly.
Why are police staff treated differently from officers at all?
Police officers are not employees — they are office holders under the Crown, which is why they have no right to strike and are covered by Police Regulations rather than a contract of employment. Police staff are ordinary employees with employment contracts, full employment rights, union bargaining and the right to take industrial action. Nearly every difference in pay, leave, overtime and pensions traces back to that distinction.